The incidence of melanoma has been continuously rising for the last 40 years, resulting in approximately 56,000 new cases and 9,500 deaths in the US in 2003. The research community devoted to melanoma is scattered among many disciplines, including dermatologists, oncologists, surgeons, radiologists, epidemiologists, geneticists, basic biologists, immunologists, and molecular biologists. The community has had only one national meeting since the late eighties until the First Melanoma Research Congress from June 21 to 24, 2003 was organized with support from NCI and NIAMS. The congress was a major success with nearly 400 attendees. The planned Second Melanoma Research Congress from November 13 to 16, 2004, aims to again bring the diverse groups together and strengthen the ties between basic and translational researchers. Sponsored by the newly founded Society for Melanoma Research, 53 speakers have been invited who represent all areas of melanoma research. These speakers will provide the community of melanoma investigators with a comprehensive overview of the current state of research. Major contributions to science have come in recent years from research groups working primarily outside of the melanoma field. These groups are beginning to be incorporated into the community and it is an aim of the Congress that they become an integral part of the melanoma research efforts. The major contribution of the meeting to the research community will flow from the exchange of information and ideas to establish and facilitate collaborations between research groups and to cross-fertilize the diverse disciplines representing melanoma research. The congress will begin on Saturday evening, November 13, 2004, with keynote addresses by two members of basic and translational melanoma fields. On Sunday and Monday, November 14 and 15 there will be sessions in the morning and afternoon, and each late afternoon will have poster sessions for the different research areas. Each session will have four pre-selected speakers with the chair providing a general overview over the entire field. Each will have one translational speaker to ensure that the research field relates to clinical questions. One additional speaker is selected from abstracts to ensure that young researchers and researchers from minorities and other disadvantaged groups are provided a forum. The sessions cover immunology, epidemiology, biology, genetics, tumor microenvironment, genomics, staging and clinical trials, melanocyte development, biomarkers, metastasis and apoptosis. This second congress will strengthen the field and solidify the ties between the different research and clinical communities.